Abstract:

The objective of the French ACSS (Agricultural Consultation and Sector Structuring) Project is to participate in the
implementation of the Plan for Modernization of Agriculture by contributing to a learning approach on farmers' groups,
commodity chain professional organization, and agricultural policy design. Research activities for the dairy sector development
in Uganda in the frame of this Project aim to meet the farmers' requirements while promoting the partnership through
multi-stakeholder participation; they were so implemented according to three phases: (i) The first phase identified the different
farm systems and their own constraints according to a systemic and participatory appraisal, (ii) The second phase led to
getting some referential in dairy farms necessary to identify priority actions in research and development, and (iii) The last
phase, which is the research support of the development process, could then be implemented with all the stakeholders'
participation to insure its relevance and its efficiency. The research activities on milk production improvement in the South
West of Uganda detailed in this paper evidence that the interaction between research and development acts at different
levels, and in all the different phases of a development project. Research must not be considered as the verity which has to be
applied for a good development process, but must be included in the development process for a better understanding of the
stakeholders, their strategies and their constraints, and for the delivery of relevant technical information.